Telephone holder and receiver lifter



(5. J. ROVNAK Dec. 6, 1949 TELEPHONE HOLDER AND RECEIVER LIFTER FiledNov. 5, 1945 attorney Patented Dec. 6, 1949 .TELEPHONE HOLDER AND LIFTER.

BEGEiVER.

George J, Rovnak, Campbell, Ohio Application November 5, 19 45, SerialNo. 626,180

5 Claims- This invention relates to a device for lifting a receiver of va telephone.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a remotely controlled device for lifting the receiver of a telephone instrument.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device incorporating a telephone supporting member .and anassociated device for mechanically lifting thereceiver of a telephone positioned thereon.

A still further object of the invention is theprovision of e o e control means for at .eIephQne. said remote control means counterbalancing a telephone receiver.

The invention shown and described herein has been devised to form a simple and efiicient means of remotely controlling the receiver of a conventional telephone such as a hand set wherein the transmitter and receiver are incorporated in a single unit of the telephone, which device includes a stand mountable on a vertical surface such as ,a wall upon which the telephone may be positioned and movable means afilxed to the said stand normally registering with the telephone and between the base portionlthereof and the receiver-transmitter unit thereof.

,A flexible actuating cable is mechanically con nected to the movable receiver-transmitter moving means and with aremote control unit which may be located a considerabl distance away from the telephone. The remote control unit includes a counterweight for offsetting the weight of the transmitter-receiver unit of the telephone and means for moving the counterweight so as to impart similar movement to the transmitter-receiver r I unit of the telephone.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the descriptionproceeds,the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of :the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of the telephone supporting stand and transmitter receiver-apparatus and a remote control means associated therewith with parts broken away and parts in cross section.

Figure 2 is a front view takenon line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged-detail view of the remote control apparatus shown in Figure 1 and taken 2 on line 3-3 of Figure l and with parts broken awayand parts in cross section.

By referring to the drawings and Figure '1 in particular it will be seen that a vertical surface such as a'wall it serves as a support for a stand I i, an outwardly extending portion l2 of which is adapted to receive and support a telephone hand set such as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 and indicated generally by the numeral l3. The s II s moun d on t e wa b m a s o screws IE and has an upwardly extending bracket s io e on a ppe ur a e thereo hi h in turn pivotally supports a lever It pivoted to the upper end of the bracket '15 by means of a pivot 1'1. One end of the lever I6 is ,cut away toprovide a thinner section engageable beneath the transmitter-receiver unit of the telephone I3. The transmitter-receiver unit is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 and is indicated by the numeral L8.

The opposite end of the lever l 6 extends beyond the pivot point ll toward the wall In and is pivotally connected by means of a pivot H! to an L-shaped connecting link i2| the horizontal portion of which is connected to a vertically positionedrrod 2]. The rod 2! is positioned through an opening 22 and has an eyelet 23 formed on its lowermost end which serves as a means of afiixing one end .of a flexiblecable 24 thereto. An opening ,25 formed in .the low r portion .of the stand I] in alignment with the opening 22 here.- tofore described permits the flexible cable 24 to pass downward-1ytherethrough, and, in the pare ticular installation of the telephone holder and receiver lifter disclosed in Figure l, the flexible :cable 24 passes downwardly to and through a floor indicated by the numeral-2,6 and over a pulley .21 positionedtherebeneath.

It will thus be seen that the telephone 1315 positioned ion the extending portion I12 of the stand H which in turn has been affixed to :the wall [0, the transmitter-receiver unit 18 r the telephone [3 will rest onthe telephone [3 and its switch mechanism as .wellas on the extending end portion of the lever I 6, as heretofore described. Thus, the weight of the transmitterreceiver unit 18 willhold the lever ;l 6 downwardly d al o open the switch mechanisms inc rated n th te ephone 1 It ll fu her -..e se n that at such t m a the i e cabl 2. i moved do nwa y with relation to e stan .I mov ment will be tr nsmittedto the"transmittenreceiver unit I B of the telephone b Way 9 th co nec ng l nk and the pivot +9 to thelever is :whi ch'in turn, i i'voe ing upon the pivot H on the upper end of the bracket 15, will lift the transmitter-receiver unit l8 of the telephone so as to permit the switch mechanism in the telephone [3 to be disengaged by the transmitter-receiver unit l8.

By referring to Figure 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the outwardly extending portion i2 is supported by a pair of angle brackets 28 which are affixed to the stand H and the outwardly extending portion I21 thereof as by means of rivets 29. It will also be seen that the upstanding bracket i is preferably U-shaped so that the lever 16 which is also U-shaped is supported between the upstanding arms of the U- shaped bracket on the pivot H. The connecting link 20 is also U-shaped and is positioned with the lever i6 lying between the upstanding arms thereof and pivoted thereto by the pivot I9 thus providing a durable structure capable of satisfactorily performing its purpose.

By referring again to Figure l of the drawings it will be noted that the flexible cable 24 maybe trained over a plurality of pulleys 2'! to a desired remote location such as, for example, a horizontal distance beneath the floor 26 and a vertical distance thereabove as by extending the flexible cable 24 upwardly as through a hollow partition such as indicated by the numeral 30. A pair of pulleys 2i may be arranged at the desired vertical distance to guide the flexible cable 24 out or the hollow partition 39. A remote control unit shown in the left hand portion of Figure l and also in enlarged detail in Figure 3 is provided for imparting and controlling the movement of the cable 2 3 and hence the lever 16 heretofore referred to.

By referring to the left hand portion of Figure l of the drawings and to Figure 3 it will be seen that the remote control unit comprises :a cylindrical casing 3! having upper and lower caps 32 and 33, respectively, threadably engaged thereon, the upper cap 32 having an opening 34 centrally located therein through which the flexible cable 24 is passed. Slidably positioned within the cylindrical casing 31 there is a weight 35 which is provided with a pair of upward extensions 36 which support a cross member 3'! to which the flexible cable 24 is affixed. The cylindrical casing 3| is provided with a slot 38 in one side thereof and the weight 35 is provided with a projecting pin- 39 which registers with the slot 38 and extends outwardly therethrough. The weight 35 is preferably formed of lead or similar heavy material and is suihcient to balance the combined weight of the lever [B and the transmitter-receiver unit is of the telephone.

It-will thus be seen that when it is desired Ito lift the telephone transmitter-receiver unit l8 as, for example, in answering an incoming call and for the purpose of stopping the ringing of the bell of the telephone l3, :the pin 39 of the remote control unit may be moved downwardly along the slot 38 in the cylindrical housing 31, which motion will be conveyed by the flexible cable 24 trained over the plurality of pulleys 27 and eventually imparted to the lever l6 which will raise the transmitter-receiver unit 18 of the telephone thereby obtaining the desired action.

The remote control unit is preferably affixed to stationary objects such as the partition 3| by means of one or more U-shaped clamping members 40, which members are provided with openings through which screws 4| may be driven.

It will thus beseen that a simple and eflicient device has been disclosed which may be installed between any two desired points in a building such as a dwelling house and will serve in use to hold a telephone of the hand set type and provide remotely actuated means for lifting the transmitter-receiver unit portion of the telephone hand set from engagement with the switch mechanism of the telephone when desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A telephone supporting and actuating device includin a platform for the reception of a telephone instrument, a lever pivotally mounted on said platform and engaging the transmitterrecelver unit of the said telephone and a remote control unit for the said lever, the said remote control unit including a slotted tubular casing, a counterweight disposed in said casing and pin means on said counterweight for raising and lowering the same, and a flexible cable connecting the said counterweight in the remote control unit with the said lever.

2. The combination with a telephone support of a lever movably affixed thereto and positioned thereabove for engagement with the transmitterreceiver of a telephone positioned on the said support, and remotely positioned means for actuating the said lever, said means includin a slotted tubular casing and a counterweight positioned in said casing for vertical movement and pin means engaging the said counterweight and extending through said slotted casing for imparting manual movement to said counterweight, and a flexible cable connecting the said counterweight and the said lever with one another.

3. The combination of a supporting bracket for a telephone hand set having a lever pivoted thereto and positioned thereabove for engagement beneath the transmitter-receiver unit of a telephone hand set positioned on said supporting bracket and a remote control unit operatively connected thereto, the said remote control unit comprising a stationary tubular casing having a weighted member reciprocally mounted therein, a slot in the said tubular casing and a pin in the said weighted member registering with the said slot and extending therethrough, a flexible cable connecting said lever and said weighted member, the said weight being movable downwardly as by manual movement imparted to the said pin to move the said lever and the transmitter-receiver unit of the telephone hand set upwardly and out of engagement with the said telephone.

4. In a telephone receiver actuating device having a pivoted member engaging said telephone receiver, a remote control unit comprising a cylindrical casing having caps threadably afiixed to its ends and means for mounting the same in a vertical position on a supporting surface, a longi tudinally extending slot formed in the said cylindrical casing and a weight reciprocally positioned in the said cylindrical casing and a pin in said weight engaging the said slot and extendin outwardly therethrough, a cable attached to the said weight and extending out of the said cylindrical enclosure and attached to said pivoted member for operating the said telephone receiver actuating device 5. A telephone receiver actuating device comprising a shelf-like member for attachment to a vertical surface and having a portion thereof spaced with respect to the said vertical supporting surface and another portion thereof projecting therefrom and adapted to receive the said telephone, an upward extension formed on the said shelf-like member and a lever pivoted thereto, the said lever extending outwardly above the said telephone supporting surface for registry between the said telephone and the transmitter-receiver portion thereof, a remote control unit for the said lever comprising a cylindrical casing, a weight reciprocally mounted in said casing, a slot in said casing and a pin in the said weight extending through the said slot, and cable means connectin the said weight with the said lever and a plurality of pulleys over which the said cable is trained, the said weight adapted to be moved by the said pin and to hold the said lever and the telephone transmitter-receiver unit'in elevated relation to the said telephone.

GEORGE J. ROVNAK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS 

